ROBERTO MARTINEZ has every reason for wishing 2013 would never end after winning the FA Cup and the upwardly mobile career move in swapping Wigan for Everton.

MATCH-WINNER: Lukaku seals the points for an Everton side on the rise [REUTERS]

But he is confident more eye-catching times stretch ahead going into the new year.

Everton’s top-four credentials were duly enhanced by a victory in which they were required to ally grit with guile in reasserting themselves against a Southampton side who have lost their early momentum.

The hosts’ qualities were evident in the moments immediately after Gaston Ramirez’s stunning equaliser, with Martinez watching his side puff out their chests and conjure a brilliant winner within three minutes.

Sub Steven Pienaar threaded a pass to the marauding James McCarthy and he found Romelu Lukaku with a deft first-time flick with the outside of his right boot.

The on-loan Belgium striker had gone five games without a goal, but he awoke in a blaze of glory to plunder his ninth of the campaign.

The instinctive manner in which he swept his effort left-footed beyond Kelvin Davis from the edge of the penalty area belied the difficulty of the opportunity and brought Goodison Park to its feet.

“We came back with one of the best goals you are going to see in the league,” said Martinez.

“We can improve. To have 37 points is an outstanding return for this stage of the season. We have had just two defeats and the draws have been more unfair draws than lucky ones.

“From the outside, you’ll judge a striker by his goalscoring ability and the numbers, but we’re seeing Romelu developing into a top footballer.”

The win allowed Everton to equal a club record for their fewest defeats in a calendar year – six – and Martinez has seen his side earn more points than his last club Wigan managed in all of last season.

What will have been especially pleasing for Martinez is how his side responded to being without suspended duo Tim Howard and Gareth Barry and with Phil Jagielka, who could be out for a month with a hamstring injury, replaced by debutant Antolin Alcaraz.

However, they are a team not just in name, as illustrated by Seamus Coleman’s stunning individual opener after nine minutes. There appeared little danger when he collected a pass wide on Everton’s right with James Ward-Prowse for company. Yet Coleman cut inside his opponent before moving effortlessly away from him, and unleashed a thunderbolt drive that fizzed into the top corner.

It was Coleman’s fifth goal of the season – his third in four games – and nine of Everton’s goals this term have originated from their full-backs.

When parity was eventually restored, it was not a surprise given the pressure Saints had mustered but, equally, it came out of nothing.

Substitute Ramirez, left, collected a pass, looked up and leathered a left-foot shot from 30 yards that packed a punch but flew through the defences of Joel Robles far too easily. He was booked for a celebration that led to him bizarrely giving his shirt away to an Everton fan and finished with no name or number on his back.

Crucially, the equaliser did not last and one win in eight games has deflated the feelgood factor evident back in September. “We created a lot of chances but come away with nothing,” said Mauricio Pochettino. “I am not worried about results.”

Everton, in contrast, remain on the up.

West Ham are trying to do a deal for Everton’s Johnny Heitinga this week to solve their centre-back problems. Heitinga is out of contract in the summer and Roberto Martinez is weighing up their interest in light of Phil Jagielka’s hamstring injury.